Google Cloud SQL Second Generation

Google’s first attempt at MySQL as a service, Cloud SQL, launched in 2011, was somewhat of a disappointment from the standpoint of performance and scalability. Cloud SQL Second Generation, which was released on Aug. 16 of this year, has no such problems. In fact, it outperforms Amazon Aurora for some load profiles.

In essence, Cloud SQL Second Generation is an implementation of MySQL 5.7 on top of Google’s Compute Engine and Persistent Disk. According to Google, Cloud SQL Second Generation runs seven times faster and has 20 times more storage capacity than its predecessor -- with lower costs, higher scalability, automated backups that can restore your database from any point in time, and 99.95 percent availability, anywhere in the world.